Day 13 - May 23 - Monday

My Journal Entry:

Toured more today, saw the probable site of Peter's house in Capernaum (a.k.a. Jesus' headquarters), saw the Jordan River, hiked up a road to a really high mountain (Arbel) looking over the valley of what used to be called Magdala (Mary Magdalene ring any bells?), walked through the ruins of Bethsaida (including a road that Jesus probably used), saw a first-century fishing boat, and sailed on the Sea of Galilee. Most of these activities we did with an Iranian group that had also come to Israel to minister! :) Tomorrow we finally get to sleep in!

Mr. Wilson's Details:


During these past two days, the team has had the unbelievable opportunity to
tour Galilee and northern Israel with Paul K., a Christian brother and now professional guide who serves with our other contacts in this part of the
country.

Here are some of our amazing experiences, each more overwhelming than the other:

We visited the “tel” (archaeological dig) of the city of Hazor, destroyed by
Joshua in the campaign to take the promised land, and later built up by either Solomon or Ahab (experts differ).

We peered into both Lebanon and Syria under the noses of high-tech Israeli
defense stations in the extreme northern part of the country, in the shadow of Mt. Hermon, which still has pockets of snow on top.

We waded in the beautiful shady pools and streams below Tel Dan, which was a
Canaanite city visited by Abraham early in his arrival in the land where God had led him. It was later developed by the Israelite tribe of Dan, the northernmost of the tribes on your Bible maps.

We drove by slopes believed to be the sites of the Sermon on the Mount and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

We visited the site of Capernaum, Jesus’ main headquarters during the years of His ministry, standing in the remains of the synagogue where He taught, and singing in a church structure built above what is considered the home of Peter’s mother-in-law, where Peter himself lived and Jesus stayed much of the time.

We viewed the sites of Bethsaida and Chorazim, which were central to Jesus and the disciples’ ministry, but which He cursed, along with Capernaum, because they did not believe in Him despite the great miracles he had performed there.

We stood on the highest cliff overlooking the Sea of Galilee from the west side, and towering over the road Jesus most likely used when He walked from Capernaum and nearby towns to Nazareth and Cana.

We visited a beautiful spot on the Jordan River, just after it leaves the south end of the Sea of Galilee, where some believe Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Some waded and swam in the Sea of Galilee, and later all of us went on a boat
ride onto the rough waters where Jesus walked on the sea and calmed the storm. What an unforgettable experience!!!

Some of those visits were shared with a group of 11 believers who had just
arrived in Israel from (get this...) Iran, the country whose president wants to wipe Israel off the map. Yet here were genuine brothers and sisters who love the Lord and love Israel, and came to minister in the name of Christ. (Their English was excellent!)

At the end of the day Monday, we spent some time ministering together on a
college campus near the Baptism site I mentioned earlier. VISION sang and
presented dramas in the open air outside the main building, and though few
students passed by, several did, and were engaged in conversations and presented with the gospel message in written form by both the Iranian team and VISION members.